New York Bands Playing SXSW

There was this adorable moment last year on the last night of South by Southwest, when proud Williamsburgers Matt & Kim were playing the backyard rattletrap-gazebo of the amazingly rad dive Ms. Bea's. Matt was standing up on his stool, looking out at the hundreds of drunk kids swarming around him, and suddenly realized that he recognized nearly everyone in sight. If I remember correctly, he squeaked out something about how it good to see so many familiar faces, how this was the "most Brooklyn-feeling shit I've been to in Texas," and then offered us all a ride back.

So yes, Brooklyn's gonna empty out for five days next monthto chase after Dolly Parton, but there is something reassuring about encountering New York faces in a foreign place. Matt & Kim are again heading to South by Southwest this year, but there's a long list of other local folks you might recognize: A Place To Bury Strangers, Asobi Seksu, the Big Sleep, El-P, Earl Greyhound, Jeffrey Lewis, Matt & Kim, MGMT, Eugene Mirman, O'Death, Parts & Labor, Phosphorescent, Ra Ra Riot, Santogold, Scary Mansion, Sightings, Shellshag, Shooting Spires, Team Robespierre, Telepathe, Vampire Weekend, White Rabbits, White Williams, Yeasayer.